Do we smell a shuffle?

The governing National Democratic Party will hold its fourth annual convention from September 19 to 21, when it is expected to review the performance of Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif’s government and assess how far it has come with the implementation of President Hosni Mubarak’s campaign vision for economic, social and political reforms.

Some insiders claim that Nazif has recently lost ground within the party for allegedly lagging in implementing the president’s campaign promises. The convention comes amid rumors suggesting a significant cabinet shuffle may be in the works. The political stars of both Rachid Mohamed Rachid, the high-profile minister of trade and industry, and Farouk El-Okda, governor of the Central Bank of Egypt, are both said to be on the rise.

At the convention, the party faithful will also discuss constitutional amendments the president has pledged to pass; the People’s Assembly is already scheduled to begin debate on the amendments when its summer recess ends in November.

Amendments on the table include striking a balance between the three branches of government and limiting some of the president’s authority by empowering Parliament and the prime minister. Parliament is also expected to pass a permanent anti-terror act to replace the reviled emergency law and to amend the law regulating parliamentary elections.

The disappearance of eleven Mansoura University students on their way to a Midwestern university last month set off a nationwide manhunt across the United States. They were part of a group of 17 students who were supposed to attend an exchange program at Montana State University.

All of the students arrived in New York on July 29, but only six made it to Montana.

The discovery of what police claim was a major terrorist plot in London, along with the resurfacing and subsequent vanishing of Rayed Abdullah (one of the 9/11 hijackers’ roommates) occurring so close to the students’ disappearance left many security officials fearing the worst.

In groups no larger than three, the students were slowly picked up by authorities between New Jersey, on the East Coast, and Minnesota, over 1,500 kilometers away.

Two of the students were arrested near Baltimore, Maryland, where they had simply shown up on the doorstep of Attia Gouda, a Mansoura-born American citizen. Gouda told authorities that he did not know they were violating the terms of their visas. His wife Jennifer told reporters, “We had no idea about any of this. They said they came here to go to school. I didn’t know anything about Montana until this morning [when the police arrived].”

Gouda, who runs a pizzeria, had given the two students jobs. He was upset about the reaction to the students’ disappearance and complained that the authorities were jumping to conclusions too quickly. In a statement, he described the two young men as country bumpkins who had gotten lost and overwhelmed in a strange new land.

The manhunt ended when the last two students were arrested outside an apartment they had rented in Richmond, Virginia, where they were looking for work. Dean Boyd, spokesman for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, said, “Rather than seeking to attend the academic program in Montana, they actually were here to stay, get jobs and earn money.”

He did not comment on whether or not their security deposit would be returned.

The program the students were scheduled to attend was a month-long course in English and US history and culture. Cathy Conover, a spokeswoman for the University of Montana, said, “We hope this doesn’t cast doubt on this program, because we think it’s important to have international students on our campus and in our community.”

Rather than casting doubts on the program, the 11 truant students probably received a much more intensive course in American language and culture than their counterparts did. They’ll have to catch up on their history back at Mansoura University.

Telecom Egypt (TE, number three on the bt100 ranking of the top companies on the Egyptian stock exchange) announced its financial results for the first half of the year (1H2006), showing only a 6.9-percent increase in net profits to LE 1.11 billion, which Chairman Akil Beshir attributed to the slower growth of his subscriber base.

TE, which listed on the Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange late last fall, added 834,000 new subscribers from June 2005 to June 2006.

Comparing figures from 1H2005 to 1H2006 shows a 9-percent year-on-year increase in fixed-line subscribers to 10.63 million, bringing TE’s penetration level to 14.8 percent. Revenues increased to LE 4.4 billion — 9 percent over the same period last year — while the number of ADSL subscribers tripled from 16,000 in 1H2005 to 48,000 in 1H2006.

Net profit for the second quarter 2006 rose 6 percent to LE 568 million compared to LE 536 million recorded in the first quarter.

During 1H2006, 70 percent of TE’s total operating revenues were derived from retail access and voice services. While access revenues from connections and subscriptions fell slightly year-on-year, total voice revenue — including local, long distance, fixed-to-international and fixed-to-mobile interconnection — made strong progress, increasing 15 percent to LE 1.8 million.

Local-call revenues increased 27 percent as a result of higher billable voice traffic and tariff rebalancing. Revenue from fixed-to-international calls rose 26 percent to end the half year at LE 198 million.

“The emphasis of TE’s activities will now begin to shift to subscriber segments where demand for additional telecommunications services is intensifying,” Beshir says. “These are segments that we believe will ultimately be more profitable.”

Total wholesale service revenues, both domestic and international, increased 17 percent during the period. Total domestic wholesale revenues rose 25 percent year-on-year to LE 220 million, while total wholesale revenues recorded a 15-percent increase in incoming international call revenue and a 16-percent increase in mobile-to-international revenue.

TE’s 25-percent stake in Vodafone Egypt (bt100 number 5) contributed to a 154-percent increase in the company’s dividend income to a total of LE 350 million for 1H2006. The national phone company lost its bid for Egypt’s third mobile license in July, which was finally awarded to UAE-based Etisalat. Had it won the bid, TE would have had to sell its stake in Vodafone Egypt.

Mobinil (bt100 number 4), one of the country’s existent mobile providers, has already decided to put off applying for a 3G license in Egypt, which would cost LE 3.3 billion (20 percent of the LE 16.7 billion paid by Etisalat for the third license). Vodafone Egypt has yet to announce its decision on whether it will apply for the 3G license.

No returns. No exchanges.” Starting August 21, consumers will no longer see these brusque words posted in shops throughout the country.

In May, the People’s Assembly passed the long-awaited Consumer Protection Act, which establishes a new body called the Consumer Protection Agency (CPA) composed of representatives from the Ministry of Trade and Industry, consumer rights societies, the Union of Chambers of Commerce and the Federation of Egyptian Industries, plus a representative from the State Council (Maglis El-Dawla).

The body will be in charge of resolving disputes between consumers, producers and importers.

Under the new law, consumers have the right to return or exchange defective goods within 14 days of purchase.

“The law represents a formal recognition of the existence and the importance of [consumer rights] associations,” says Soad El-Deeb, vice-president of the Federation of Consumer Protection Societies, a non-governmental organization founded in 1997 that encompasses 15 consumer rights associations.

“The law allows these societies to file suits and claim compensation in the name of consumers for the first time,” she adds. “It also gives them the right to raise awareness and provide consumers with information, conduct studies and receive complaints.”

Zeinab Awadallah, president of the National Association for Consumer Protection, believes that the “biggest advantage” of the new law is the authorization of consumer rights associations to file suit on behalf of consumers. “Now they’re acting like professional syndicates,” she says.

Despite their enthusiasm, Awadallah and El-Deeb have some reservations about the law. El-Deeb voices skepticism about the independence of the CPA, especially since it falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

“It is more of a governmental body, despite the fact that consumer rights associations and chambers of commerce are represented,” El-Deeb says. She argues that the agency should have been left in the hands of consumer rights associations to avoid its subordination to the government, and should only have included government representatives as ex-officio members with no voting power.

Still, both Awadallah and El-Deeb say they have no real worries so long as Minister of Trade and Industry Rachid Mohamed Rachid continues to hold his current portfolio. They maintain that Rachid is committed to the protection of consumer rights.

“But what if someone else came with backward thinking?” asks El-Deeb. “We have had ministers who did not believe in the protection of consumer rights or consumer rights societies, ministers who even wanted to exterminate those associations”

The new law also stipulates that the CPA’s president is entitled to drop charges against offending merchants provided the accused has paid a minimum fine of LE 10,000. To Awadallah, this provision is “the biggest flaw” of the law.

“This means that the suspect would go to [the president of the Authority] and say, ‘I am sorry, I will never do it again.’ Then he would reconcile with him and the case would be over without consulting the plaintiff or the [consumer rights] associations. This article ruins the whole law.”

Proposed amendments to the law, which are expected to pass through Parliament when it reconvenes in November, leave Awadallah and El-Deeb somewhat more hopeful that these provisions will be changed.

The Ministry of Finance and Insurance announced the development of a public-private partnership to build 50 new elementary and secondary schools in 11 governorates, including Alexandria, Kafr El-Sheikh, Gharbiyya and Qalyoubeyya.

According to a ministry official, the government will provide the land and a private construction company will build the schools and provide maintenance for 15 to 20 years. The ministries of finance and insurance, investment and education have met with several construction companies, but as of yet, no names have been revealed.

The partnership is part of the government’s effort to ease the burden laid upon the Ministry of Education’s budget. The government also plans to eventually build more schools in all 27 governorates.

“Investing in our children’s education is investing in Egypt’s future,” announced Minister of Education Yousry El-Gamal.

Some critics fear the influence of the private sector on the public, referring to the negative impact of the private sector on the healthcare industry, which resulted in the cancellation of free health care.

“We will not know for sure until we know which companies are participating,” says Nihal Fahmy, a political-science professor at the American University in Cairo.

“Is the government’s goal to reduce its responsibilities or to involve a responsible private sector? If [the latter] is the goal, then I don’t see a problem with implementing such a deal,” Fahmy says. “But the main issue remains: Are these companies concerned with developing the education sector, or are they profit-based?”

This project dovetails with other government projects like the World Economic Forum (WEF)-backed Egyptian Education Initiative (EEI), which aims to develop education technology in Egypt. Focusing on the further development of the four segments of the education sector — pre-university education, higher education, lifelong learning and e-learning — the EEI was first announced on May 20 at the WEF held in Sharm El-Sheikh. Working with the government to achieve the goals of the EEI are some of Egypt’s leading IT companies, including HP, IBM, Microsoft and Oracle.

Hoda Baraka, director of the EEI, says, “By implementing this partnership, the government of Egypt, together with World Economic Forum member companies and organizations, will pave the way for the transformation of our society to a knowledge society and contribute to the development and prosperity of our community.”  et